Unfit for Duty - A Spartan-III story
by Hawkeye B137
Summary: Back story for an original character. The story of a spartan-III who struggles with active duty in the UNSC. Horrors of her childhood shape her into the soldier they need her to be.
1. Museum of Horror

**_"We all have a story, somewhere we come from._**

**_ Something that has happened to us, Sometimes it seems like the end of the world._**

**_ Then you wake up and as you look around you have no idea where you are._**

**_ Not remembering what happened to you is almost as scary as facing down an entire covenant battalion._**

**_ My name is Hawkeye B-137 and this is my story."_**

* * *

**SPARTAN III Program, Beta Company**

**NAME: Hawkeye B-137**

**AGE: 20**

**GENDER: Female**

**MOTHER: Adelane Kingsdale _(Deceased)_**

**FATHER: Damion Kingsdale _(Deceased)_**

* * *

**Chapter One - Museum of Horror  
**

Hawk had originally been born with the name 'Sofia Kingsdale' on the planet 'Coral'. She wasn't on the planet for a full year before her parents began traveling  
again. They raised her 'On the road' in a sense, they took her with them to different planets where they helped those who were stuck in refugee camps with nothing.

A woman in her late 20s stood at a Security checkpoint waiting for clearance to go through. A UNSC Marine stood in front of her examining the paperwork she had provided. He looked over the identification a few moments before looking at the vehicle, in which sat a male driver. Turning his attention back to the woman he did a double check over the ID.

"Can I ask what business you have here in Newfort?" "Humanitarian aide for the refugee camp" "I'm sorry Ma'am, but unless you are on official business I can't let you into the city." "Humanitarian aide is official business" "Not anymore, It was deemed unnecessary for smaller Refugee camps." The woman scowled a moment before turning to the car in a signal to the man.

Getting out of the jeep the man in the black jacket and black pants walked to the marine. He flipped open his badge holder to show the man his ONI credentials. "I have somewhere to be, Corporal. Unless you want to explain why I missed my meeting."

The Corporal stared a moment before handing back the woman's ID, "I apologize, sir. I didn't mean to hold you up."

Getting back into the jeep they began driving down the road into the city. Adelane let out a sigh as she looked at her husband "You can't just go flashing a high level security clearance badge around, Damion. People will start asking questions."

He let out a sigh as he watched the road "I don't have time for all of these security checkpoints." He grumbled as he pulled the jeep into a parking garage. Once in a parking spot he turned the jeep off and looked into the backseat. A young girl with soft auburn hair sat fast asleep with a fabric bag clutched in her arms.

Adelane looked at her husband a moment before getting out and opening the back door. Gently undoing the child's buckle she picked her up out the seat, "I'll be back."

a man in a suit watched as adelane laid the child on a sleeping bag he had set out in his office. "How long do I get to hang with Sofia this time?"

"Three days max" She said as she brushed hair out of Sofia's face "Info suggests high levels of activity in the Byuum tunnels."

"Careful, scientists have been disappearing from there. No trace."

"Tony, don't even start with that horror movie nonsense of yours." She looked at her watch breifly before standing up "Damion is waiting in the jeep, I gotta go." She began towards the door and just about closed it then turned to Tony "No sugar!"

He nodded softly "no sugar, got it." With the girl's mother gone he sat down at his desk to finish his paperwork.

The Kingsdales seemed to live a life of humanitarian aid, helping in places of need. a few months after turning 5 the family was in the city of Newdale on the planet 'Meridian' when the covenant began attacking the city. They invaded the city with masses to exterminate the people and then search for forerunner tech.

Looking for a way to get his family off the streets Damion went towards a nearby museum. What he didn't know is that he would be placing his family in even more danger. His choice for a hiding place put the them in the direct path of the covenant invasion force. Upon entering the building they went down into the 3rd basement level with the early Dinosaur exhibits.

The young father led Sofia into a room and knelt down to her level while holding her by the shoulders, "Sofia my darling, Daddy has to go make sure that the aliens don't come down here. I need you to stay with your mother, okay?" Her father gave her a soft smile before giving a kiss to her forehead

"I'll be back soon, I love you." He stood and gave his wife a short kiss before running back the way they came. Half an hour went by before they heard anything at all. Unfortunately it was the sounds of the covenant that came echoing through the hallways.

Adelane grabbed the young child and shoved her into the tall grass of an exhibit. She glanced at the doorway before placing her finger on her lips in a 'Shhh' motion. Her mother put a hand on the girl's cheek in a loving manner just as something yanked her away from the child.

The sudden motion made Sofia Jump in surprise before she scooted back farther in the exhibit. She peered out at her mother as this giant creature held her up in front of it. Strange noises came from the creature's mouth, as if it was talking to her. It was one of those strange creatures that her parents referred to as covenant. The creature activated a blue glowing sword and stabbed it into the woman. Agony and pain crossed over her face as the blade seared into her chest cavity.

Sofia tried her best to stay quiet as she was instructed only for a whimper to escape from her throat. The creature looked over towards the exhibit looking for the source of the noise. With one swift flick of the blade the woman's body was flung to the ground with a sickening crack on the hard concrete floor. The young girl's lip quivered as she looked out at her mother's body. As the giant alien walked closer it drug the energy sword on the ground slowly behind it. It raised the glowing sword about to strike her down when loud gunshots cracked through the air.

She closed her eyes and covered her ears in the fear that it was all over. A few moments later she opened her eyes slowly to see the elite's body leaning over the edge of the exhibit.

An armored soldier with a gun was checking the rest of the room before he headed towards the grass of the exhibit "Hey little one, you okay?"

The Terrified child nodded softly in response and was about to crawl out when she heard gunshots out in the hallway. Another ODST entered the room with a man before taking cover behind the doorway. He pulled a black box from his pouch and flipped the switch with a quick shout "Fire in the hole!"

The building rumbled from an explosion and a dust cloud went down the hallway. The ODST waited a moment before looking back into the hall. He was gone only a moment before returning to the room "We just lost our escape route but that should buy us a little time."

The 1st ODST set down his rifle and pulled off his helmet as he turned his attention to the child. shoved the elite's lifeless body out of the way before reaching out to Sofia "Come on, let's get you out of here."

She looked at him a moment then turned her attention to her mother's body. The trooper followed her eye line and saw exactly what she was looking at. "She's in a better place" "Really?" "Yeah" He held his arms out to her and she slowly walked toward him. He embraced her in a hug before brushing the hair out of her eyes "We won't let those ugly elites hurt you." He picked her up and brought her out of the exhibit.

The second ODST seemed to be arguing with the man he brought into the room. Discussing options and how something was top secret. Just then the building shook with an explosion. The man grabbed his keys "Follow me!"

Aker, the 2nd ODST took point as the man guided them through the halls to what looked like a utility closet. He tapped the wall three times and a rectangular piece of wall rotated until there was a keypad in it's place. Aker stepped closer seeing a small ONI symbol on the keypad "Is this...?" "Classified" The man said cutting him off "Speak of anything you see down here and you will be tried for treason."

O'Brian held the child in his arms tightly as a slight tremor shook the building "Could we please just get down into the tunnels?" He didn't like being up here very much while the covenant was trying to break into the building. The ONI man glanced at them before punching a long key code into the pad. The door opened with a hiss revealing an elevator that most likely went deep down into the 'Tunnels' that they spoke of.

Everyone stepped on board and the doors closed them in. Setting Sofia down he took his helmet off once more and crouched down in front of her "You are one brave little girl" He said trying to cheer her up.

"No... I'm not brave..." Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back her pain.

O'Brian put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her "You know, You remind me of my little girl." Sofia blinked at this new information which seemed completely off topic to her, "really?" The ODST nodded with a soft sad smile "Yeah, about your age."

"whats her name?" This was starting to take her mind off of the current situation.

"Elizabeth. Everyone called her Lizzy though." He paused having blocked so much of this information in the past. "She's up with her mommy in the place where your mommy and daddy are."

"What happened?"

"I was training on Reach when my home planet was attacked by the Covenant. The planets surface was melted to glass and I couldn't save them." He brushed the bangs out of Sofia's eyes "I wasn't able to protect my family, That said I will do my best to Protect you."

A soft smile came onto her face as he pulled her into a hug. The ONI man cleared his throat "I'm sorry to break up this touching moment but we are almost to the tunnels. You might want to be ready." O'Brian gave her a quick smile before standing and putting his helmet back on. The doors opened revealing a dark room with a few doors. The ODSTs exited the elevator with guns at the ready and as soon as they did the lights came on.

Aker looked back at the ONI man "alright, where do we go?" "take the second door" they did as the man said and opened the door. After checking if the coast was clear they motioned for both Sofia and the man to follow. Heading down a short hall they came to another door on which had a keypad. Once more the ONI man stepped forward and opened the door.

After what seemed like an hour of walking they came across an office like area that had multiple office rooms. They crossed into the center on the room when plasma bolts shot at them from the opposite side. The ONI man went down immediately with a wash of green plasma to the face.

"Cover me!" O'Brian yelled as he scooped Sofia up into his arms and made for one of the offices. Aker fired at the small group of covenant as he backed up towards the room that his partner went to.

O'Brian set Sofia down next to the desk as Aker got into the room and hid on the side of the doorway.

Sofia took cover behind a desk as both the ODSTs aimed their guns at the door. As soon as the door flew open they began firing on the creatures that tried to enter. A ball of glowing blue light was flung through the doorway and landed near Aker. The ODST quickly dove out of the way only to get caught by a Plasma bolt to the chest.

He laid on his side clutching his chest in pain. O'Brian took only a brief glance over at his fallen comrade as he continued to shoot the Covenant in the doorway, "Aker! Don't die on me!" All he got in response was a groan of pain from Aker.

Hearing how close the fallen ODST was to the desk, the child peeked out at him. His pistol had fallen from it's holster when he dodged the grenade. The weapon a few feet away from him. O'Brian shot the final creature in the doorway and waited with his gun trained. Bodies of Grunts, Jackals and a few elites littered the doorway. The ODST kept his sights on the door as he slowly walked over and checked on Aker.

The ODST stared down at his comrade for a moment before looking to the child under the desk. He was about to head over towards her when Pink crystals shot through the air and hit him in the chest. After 5 impacted his chest they shattered very explosively. He was thrown against the wall right behind him and slid down into a slumped position. Sofia scooted closer to the desk as she heard the jackal creeping into the room.

It crept closer to the two ODSTs on the floor before looking around From what she could tell it didn't know she was there. A tickle in her nose made her cringe as she tried to ignore it, until the sneeze just came out.

The jackal raised its needler at the desk looking for the source of the noise. Just then O'Brian who had a little life left in him weakly grabbed his pistol and fired a shot to get the alien's attention. Using the distraction she crept around the desk and ran for the door. The jackal turned it's attention back to the child as she was a more interesting target. She looked back at it and suddenly slammed into cold metal where the doorway should have been. She almost fell back from the impact when something grabbed her.

Armored hands grabbed her by the shoulders as an alien looking robot crouched in front of her. It was using itself as a shield, Protecting her from the creature in the room. A few gunshots and heavy footsteps could be heard before her protector stood up. The visor was mirrored making it so she couldn't see the face of the one with the green robot armor, which seemed unique in their color and design. Looking over she saw that there were two others that looked the same that were checking on the fallen ODSTs.

She felt terrified but at the same time she thought they were the coolest things ever.

* * *

_**Next time on 'Unfit for Duty':**_

**"What's your name?" "I'm Hawkeye"**

_**"I wanna be like them one day. I'm gonna stop them from killing people." "That's good to hear, because they are recruiting. You're a perfect match."  
"count me in."  
**_

* * *

**_Author's_ _notes:_ To the Editor who is deathly afraid of large bugs :D  
**

Kyle Walked into the office and slung his jacket over the back of the chair "Sorry I'm late sir, I got cornered by a giant bug. This thing was gnarly!"

"How'd you kill it?" "An ODST flushed it down the toilet." "You're quite a spartan..."


	2. Dark Places

**"How does a person cope with losing everything? A life stolen, a home destroyed, horrors no one likes to think about. **

**They struggle but that is what makes them stronger as they learn to adapt and survive in the best way they can. **

**This war has seen much bloodshed, hurt a lot of people and shattered families. **

**One can only hope for its end to come soon." **

- _Dr. Christopher Gold, O.N.I. Psychologist_

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Dark Places**

* * *

The armored soldier that protected her moved to the door and kept watch. Sofia looked at the other two and saw one of the ODSTs moving a little.  
Without a word she made her way to the man sitting against the wall. One of the soldiers helped take off his helmet as the other stood and walked past sofia to the door.

Getting closer she saw blood running from O'Brian's nose and a decent trickle coming from his mouth.  
She then looked down noticing the blood that was on his armor and the jagged holes where the blood was coming from. The robot man was using some sort of can to inject a foam like substance in the holes.

The wounded ODST saw the child as he looked up. A soft, pain filled smile graced his lips as he reached a hand out to her. She took a few steps closer to him cautiously while glancing at what the Soldier was doing. O'Brian put a bloody hand on the soldier's armor and shook his head. Understanding what he meant by the gesture, the robot stood and gave the two some room to talk.

As Sofia was close enough to him, He reached his hand and gently put his hand on her shoulder.  
"Hey, kiddo... Go with the Spartans..." He managed to say in a quiet voice. It was clear what was happening but she didn't want to accept it. "Wha.. What about you?"

He clenched his jaw for a moment before he could respond, "Sweety... I'm not coming..."  
"Why?" "I..." He searched for the words to say "I'm going to see... My little girl..."

The confusion vanished as everything clicked, causing tears to well up in her eyes.  
"No... You can't... You... You..." Her lip quivered as she was about to lose yet another person in her life.

He brushed her hair out of her face weakly before she grabbed and held his hand tightly.

"Please... Don't leave me..." Even though she hadn't known him for very long he was all she had. He protected her from the covenant while trying to keep her calm.

Armored hands suddenly wrapped around her waist and gently pulled her away from the ODST.  
"No... Don't..." Words were suddenly harder to try to form as her mind raced.

The Spartan set her down on the table and looked her in the eyes, or so she thought, "We have to go. There's nothing more that we can do for him."  
The voice seemed so human coming from the Robot like Soldier.

Biting her quivering lip softly she gave a solemn nod. The Spartan picked her up once more and once she was securely in his arms he drew his magnum. As he carried her towards the door she peered over the shoulder at O'brian until they rounded the corner.

One Spartan led while the other brought up the rear. They moved from room to room clearing before they moved on. Things had become deathly quiet as they entered a larger room with display cases of strange items. All she could hear was the soft noises that came off the soldier's armor.

Sofia glanced around when something strange caught her eye. The air seemed to glimmer and move in a distinct shape.  
Frowning a moment she pointed it out, "What's that?"

Upon turning to where Sofia pointed the Spartan saw the glimmer and opened fire. An Elite became visible, dropping to the ground as its camo and shields failed it. The spartan looked around briefly with the rifle to check for anything else moving.

"I think I'll have to call you Hawkeye from now on." The slightly taller one commented before they continued on. It took a decent amount of time until they finally made it back up to the surface where a pelican waited for them. Upon climbing aboard they all took seats before signaling to the pilot that they were on board.

The pelican flew away from the planet quickly as they headed toward the ship that was waiting to pick them up.  
They began slowing down as they entered the docking bay of a ship and set down gently. The Spartans remained quiet as the shorter one unbuckled the safety harness from Sofia.

Slowly sliding out of the seat she looked towards the Spartans then to the hatch as it began opening. Grabbing their gear the Spartans began to exit the days events were catching up with the child as she realized they weren't going to stay with her.

Sofia ran after and grabbed hold of the hand of the Spartan that unbuckled her. Pausing a moment the Spartan looked down at the child as a man took hold of her shoulders. Gently pulling his hand away the spartan continued walking.

When the Spartan began walking away again Sofia started to panic. It was much like a child being left by her mother at the daycare, "No! Don't go!" She cried as she tried to reach out for the soldier. The crew member that had grabbed her shoulders picked her up in his arms.

"Ssshhhh. Everything's okay." He said trying to calm her down "I just need to take you to the med bay." While squirming in his arms the girl elbowed the crewman square in the nose. A second crewman came over to aid by helping calm her down so they could get her looked at by the ship's doctor. With the spartans out of sight the child broke into hysterics, Tears streamed down her face as she screamed for them to return.

The first crewman wiped his bloody nose on his jacket before throwing her over his shoulder and heading towards the medical bay.

Sofia sat with a few other kids as personnel came around getting their names and taking blood samples. A part of her waited for her mom to walk in the doors and say sorry for being late. The only thing is that no matter what she did she couldn't stop the images of the elite stabbing her. She stared at the floor until someone touched her shoulder and she jumped in surprise. Looking up she saw the lady with labcoat and clipboard in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. What's your name?"

"Sof..." She paused a moment remembering what the Spartan had called her. "Hawkeye, my name is Hawkeye."

After all the paperwork, DNA tests, blood tests and retina scan she was sent to refugee camp, where she was placed in a small rundown room by herself.  
It was void of color really and the only things it held was a dresser, bed and a small desk. Having no belongings to call her own she didn't care about the dresser. The room had a rank smell as if this room had been occupied by someone who was sick.  
Walking to the corner she curled up on the floor and cried herself to sleep.

MWMWM

Hawkeye laid underneath the bed hiding from whoever was in the building. Angry yelling could be heard in the hall followed by the sounds of things being thrown across a room. They started arguing 30 mins prior and have gotten louder since. They were mad about something relating to a child not being theirs. Things went quiet for a few moments, giving the child a false sense of security.

She was about to crawl from under the bed when loud gunshots rang out. Several gunshots went off followed by someone storming past the door and out of the building. Giving it a moment she cautiously made her way out of the room. Getting to the source of the noise she found a man laying in a large pool of blood. Next to him lay a little girl who he must have been trying to protect. Her friend lay there with two bullets holes in her chest. The man had a few holes in his chest along with one in his forehead.

Staring at the horrifying sight of 2 bodies, she stood unsure of what to do. The dead girl had been her only friend for the first few days until she was paired with a refugee family. It was at that moment she realized that the foster families weren't safe. She had to protect herself now, not rely on anyone for anything.

It didn't take too long to see that the refugee camp was a living nightmare. There were so many refugees and  
so few guards that often things ran unchecked. Within a few months, Hawk learned how to stay out of sight and keep herself fed.  
For safety at nights she would shove the desk in front of the door before curling up in the corner of the room.

Many of the other children were paired with refugee families as the facility didn't have the staff to take care of them. Hawk however  
eluded them every time they came to get her. She saw the abuse many of the children received and decided she could take care of herself.  
A result of this was her being really thin from the small amounts of food she was able to get.

One morning there came a loud knock on the door, startling the child awake. With a sleepy panic she scrambled off of the bed  
and underneath its frame. After another loud knock the person tried the door to find it not locked but something in the way.  
Shoving on the door moved the lightweight desk enough to get into the room. Two pairs of combat booted feet entered the room  
and looked around for something.

A third person walked in wearing clean Black combat boots with clean black pants, "Sofia, We just want to talk to you." She heard no response from anyone  
when the man spoke again "Is she not in here?"

It struck her as odd that someone would call her by her old name as no one here knew it. She reached up to the  
frame of the bed and grabbed the small Kitchen knife she hid between the springs. Living in this place she learned  
quickly about the need to defend oneself.

The people stopped moving before one walked to the bed and looked underneath. She scooted as close as she could to the wall as he  
reached under to grab her. With a quick swipe of the knife the man cursed before he grabbed the knife from her.

After throwing it behind him he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out from under the bed. She started struggling against him and screaming for him to let her go until he put his hand over her mouth to quiet her down. "Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Looking at the men she saw they weren't the regular camp guards, they were UNSC soldiers.  
The other Soldier took Sofia while the first began taking care of his bloody hand.

One wore nice black fatigues and stood with a clipboard in his arms, "My name is Mark Patrick. We're here to offer you a new life."

The man in black led Hawk down the hall to a room with a desk. Another man was inside that looked up at them when the door was opened. He smiled in greeting to her, "Hello Sofia". She walked into the room cautiously, not sure of what was going on. Mark gave he a gentle push on her back to guide her to the chair.

After getting into the chair she looked at the man quietly as he leaned forward a little.  
"I heard about what happened to you. I'm terribly sorry about that, Sofia". With a shake of her head she finally spoke "My name isn't Sofia." The man exchanged glances with Mark before he continued "What is your name?"

"I'm Hawkeye."

He asked her questions about her parents work and how things have been going since being alone. They spoke about Soldiers and upon getting on the topic of Spartans Hawk told him how much she wished to be like them one day. "I'm going to stop the aliens from hurting anymore people..." At this the LT couldn't help but to smile "That's good to hear, because they're recruiting and you're a perfect match. What I need to know is, Are you up for fighting back?"

"Count me in." Hawk said with a big smile on her face. The man stood and gathered his papers "good, I'll put things in order."

For the next few months she was tested and kept in an ONI holding facility until the time came to ship out to her new home, to her new life.

* * *

**Next Time on 'Unfit For Duty'  
**

**_"Teamwork is the most important thing you need to learn."_**

**"You two stay here and we will flank left."**

**_"You're an amazing soldier, but pull a stunt like that again and you're done"_**


End file.
